Independence War
by Takara Phoenix
Summary: Following "Independence Day"! The Last Olympian with a twist according to my Independence-verse. Charles/Percy/Silena threesome - Sequel "An Independent Love Life" is up!


PJatO || In3pendensome || PJatO || Independence War || PJatO || In3pendensome || PJatO

Title: Independence War – Love Me, Love Me, Say That You Love Me

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians; post-Demi God Files; part of my Independence-verse

Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Rick Riordan for he created the awesomeness that is Nico di Angelo. And everything else related to Percy Jackson and the Olympians, likewise the Heroes of Olympus. Aside from the Gods, of course. They are all copyright by the old Greeks. The story in itself though is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: shounen-ai, hetero, threesome, h/c, romance, AU-ish

Main Pairing: Charles/Percy/Silena

Side Pairings: Nico/Annabeth, Luke/Annabeth, Chris/Clarisse, Percy/Annabeth (past; hinted), Nico/Percy (one-sided; hinted)

Percy Jackson Characters: Charles Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, Perseus Jackson, Nico di Angelo, Annabeth Chase, Clarisse la Rue, Chris Rodriguez, Castor Liber, Connor Stoll, Travis Stoll, Triton, Chiron, Malcolm, Thalia Grace, Grover Underwood, Luke Castellan

Summary: Alternative version of The Last Olympian. Takes place after the alternative version of the Demi-God Files. Follows the "Indepence Day".

**Independence War**

_Love Me, Love Me, Say That You Love Me_

It all had started at the Independence Day 2006.

Silena asked Beckendorf out on their first date, after years of pinning after each other. And Annabeth asked Percy out, sort of. Until a certain son of Hades spontaneously visited, drawing all attention to himself. Campers whispered about him, girls swooned after him and Annabeth dropped Percy for him.

The son of Death had always had a crush on Annabeth, ever since he first saw her. And the daughter of Athena developed certain feelings for him, too. She was confused about her feelings, there were Luke and Percy and Nico, but the son of Hades was the first to make a move and they had their first date on Independence Day.

"What are you sulking about?", had Beckendorf asked him.

The son of Hephaestus had dropped by at cabin three to look after the green-eyed boy.

"Nothing, just bad taste", was the answer.

"Then spend the day with us", had the black boy suggested.

He should have taken this as a hint. That the older male wanted to spend his first date with his new girlfriend with him.

Charles, Silena and Percy had laid on a blanket, only a mess of tangled legs and arms.

With that day, their friendship had taken a totally different turn. Grover was busy searching for Pan, Annabeth was busy with Daedalus' laptop and secret meetings with the Ghost Prince. Percy started spending all his time with the daughter of Aphrodite and her boyfriend, and thus also with Silena's best friend, a certain daughter of Ares. They grew closer and Percy and Clarisse even dropped their rivalry. And even though it was only because of Charles and Silena, Clarisse still took his first place as best friend. They spend many 'girls' nights together with the blonde, talking about boys and the war and about Annabeth and Nico.

Then came the day when they had a chance to destroy the 'Princess Andromeda' and even though the majority of camp wanted Percy to go with Beckendorf, the boy himself didn't want that.

"This is not a good idea", objected the son of Poseidon.

"Why not? Coward much?", asked Castor with a half grin.

"If Charles and I would go, we would be trapped there. If anything would go wrong, we won't have a backup-plan."

"So, what are you suggesting, Perce?", wanted the head of Hephaestus cabin to know.

"I'd suggest that he goes with Nico."

"Nico? Nico di Angelo?", grunted Connor irritated.

"Why would that change anything?", continued Travis.

"Because a son of Hades has one special ability, he can walk through shadows. If the titan lord catches them, they could just escape through the nearest shadows", explained Percy.

"Since when exactly are you one to play safe?", hummed Clarisse confused.

"I just – I don't want anyone to get hurt and with Nico the chances would minimize."

"Well then, how do we get in contact with the Ghost Prince?", asked Charles mockingly.

"I could IM him", chimed Annabeth slowly in.

"Yeah, go call your boyfriend", grunted Clarisse with a cheeky grin.

The daughter of Athena blushed and ran out of the room, muttering something about stupid children of Ares to herself. The brunette chuckled good amused and watched her retreat. She then slung her arm around Percy's neck and led her best friend out of the big house, officially ending the meeting.

"So, Sea Prince, care to explain your sudden concern?"

"I don't know what you mean, War Princess", mumbled the black haired boy.

"Well, every time you go on a mission, you don't really watch out for yourself so I'm guessing you're concerned for Beckendorf."

"Of course I'm concerned for Charles. We're friends", answered the son of Poseidon.

"Yeah, right you and _Charles_ are just _friends_."

"What on earth are you implying?"

"That you, my boy, have a thing for couples", chuckled the daughter of Ares.

"Excuse me?", exclaimed Percy wide-eyed.

"Well, first you have that crush on Annabeth, what by the way I really don't understand, then there is this brotherly-obsession-turned-crush you had on Nico and they got together. And now you start looking longingly at Silena and Beckendorf. _And_ you're the only one calling Beckendorf Charles. I mean, Silena is calling him Charlie, but you're the only one calling him Charles without getting the crap beaten out of you", stated the brunette matter-of-fact-ly.

The son of the sea god stopped dead in his tracks and blinked a few times. He never really noticed, but it was true that Charles never objected to the way he said the older boy's name.

"I think you have it bad for black haired boys and blonde girls", giggled Clarisse.

Percy blushed and stared skywards. The clouds were thick and dark, even though it didn't rain at camp, the boy still could imagine it. He kind of missed the rain, water had that calming effect on him. So he headed to the lake to take a swim. His toes touched the water and the Sea Prince allowed them to get wet. A content sigh escaped his lips and he closed his eyes.

"Trying to relax, kelp brain?"

Percy stiffened, but didn't dare to turn around. He knew that voice, but he couldn't believe the Ghost Prince would arrive that soon. Well, it seemed he would do anything for Annabeth.

"Somewhat, yeah. You came fast."

"Annie said you guys need my help and since I had nothing else to do..."

The curly-haired boy shrugged nonchalantly and grinned at the older demi-god.

"Yeah, _Annabeth_ wanted to contact you because of our next quest. We need you to accompany Charles to the 'Princess Andromeda'. Just go to the big house and ask Chiron for information."

"You're not coming along? To the quest, I mean?"

"No", was the last thing Percy said before jumping into the lake in one swift motion.

He loved the sea, the darkness and dullness of the water, no birds chirping, no people rambling, no cars, nothing, just the blissful sound of the waves and the small voices of the creatures of the sea.

"Our young lord!", squealed some little fishes in delight.

They circled him excitedly and he smiled at them. He dove deeper and deeper until he was certain he was far enough away from camp and Nico and Annabeth. Far enough to finally think clearly.

So, maybe his best friend was right. Maybe he had an unhealthy interest in couples. Maybe he was doomed to stay alone for all eternity. What had Aphrodite said? She would make his love-life interesting? Just great.

"Half-brother", acknowledged a dark voice.

Percy stiffened and turned slowly, facing the merman. Triton looked at him irritated.

"Triton", whispered the green-eyed boy and nodded slowly.

"What are you doing here?", growled the merman.

Percy's face contracted in confusion as he turned around, for the first time taking in his surroundings. He was at his father's palace. Triton led the way to their father and Percy didn't want to trust his eyes. Poseidon, the mighty king of the sea, looked weary, and dare he say it, old.

The war was slowly draining his father's life out of him. And it was happening there, in his realm. But Percy still feared that Poseidon's absence during the war would be to their disadvantage.

His senses were still dull when he arrived back at camp.

"PERCY!"

His name, screamed at the top of a certain female's voice brought him back to earth. Annabeth ran right into him, embracing him into a bone-crushing hug.

"Annabeth?", asked the boy confused.

"Is he back?", interrupted Nico curiously.

"Yeah, I'm back. Why? What's wrong?"

"Percy! You've been gone for hours! Nico and Beckendorf are already back again! And when you didn't show up anywhere and Nico told us you went swimming, we all got worried! We thought the titans had captured you, or monsters ate you, or something!", rambled Annabeth.

It was rare to see the blonde so emotionally. But the Ghost Prince reminded Percy that this was not his place. Nico laid an arm around Annabeth's waist and tried to calm her.

A dark shadow crept onto his face as he remembered that he wasn't the one to hold the daughter of Athena. That he wasn't the one to see these emotions. That he wasn't the one the blonde belonged to. Neither the blonde nor the black-haired. But maybe this was for the best.

"Perce!", screamed another blonde. "Charlie! He's back!"

Silena jumped the son of Poseidon, wrapping her legs around his waist and nearly suffocating him. He tried to hold her tight, but it was kind of complicated. Strong arms wrapped themselves around his torso, holding onto the blonde too, supporting them both. The son of Poseidon relaxed and leaned against the broad chest behind him.

"Damn, don't scare us like that again, Perce", scolded Beckendorf.

"I've been so happy when Nico and Charlie arrived back at camp and when we went to cabin three and you weren't there, I've been worried sick!", added the daughter of Aphrodite.

"I didn't realize I've been away for such a long time...", mumbled Percy.

Silena pushed herself off of Percy's chest, looking him dead into the eyes.

"Where have you been?"

The Prince of the Sea closed his eyes tightly and let go of the daughter of Aphrodite. Silena slid slowly down and stood in front of the two boys. She blinked a few times.

"Perce? Are you alright? Did something happen?"

"Ah! Boys, there you are!", interrupted Chiron.

The centaur had tried to contact Nico and Charles since the boys came back, but they had been so busy searching for Percy that even Chiron himself forgot about the mission.

"I see, Percy came back. Then, can you finally tell me about the quest?"

"Ah, yeah, sure, Chiron, I can tell you everything", answered Nico and nodded. He then turned to Beckendorf. "Beckendorf, you can stay with Percy and see what's wrong with him."

Charles locked eyes with the son of Hades and nodded grateful. The centaur turned around and left, followed by Annabeth and Nico. The son of Hephaestus slid his arms around Percy's waist and guided the boy to cabin three. Percy seemed to be far away with his thoughts. Silena opened the door for them and closed it behind them. All the while, Charlie sat himself and the son of Poseidon down on the biggest and only used bed. The blonde sat on the other side of Percy.

"Perce, tell me what's wrong", pleaded Silena with worry.

"I... I've been to my father's palace... But he's... fading...", whispered the green-eyed boy.

"What do you mean? Your father's palace is fading?", asked Charles confused.

"No...", Percy shook his head. "Not the palace... My father is fading away... The mortals don't believe anymore and the titans are gaining more and more strength... They are winning... We can't... we can't win against them if my father is busy with his own battle down there... The gods had barely won the last time and now they are down one number..."

"Perce, I'm so sorry", mumbled the blonde and shook her head slowly.

"Yeah, me too...", huffed the son of the sea god sadly.

Soft fingers stroke his fingers and smeared a strange wetness over his cheeks. Wetness...? When had he started crying...? Slender arms slung around his neck, curling into his hair. Strong arms pulled him onto the lap of the son of Hephaestus. He silently cried himself to sleep, feeling comforted by Silena and protected by Charles.

When he woke up, he could feel two warm bodies, one on either side of him. A rough, scarred hand drew symbols on his stomach, tickling his skin softly.

"Charles... that tickles", murmured the Sea Prince with half-lid eyes, looking over his shoulder in mock-annoyance.

"I'm sorry, but your skin is just too soft, I always thought that Silena was the only one with such soft skin...", whispered the dark-skinned teen with a cheeky grin.

"Stop molesting Perce, Charlie", scolded Silena with a soft giggle.

"I'm not molesting him!", protested Beckendorf stubbornly.

The couple leaned over Percy and kissed tenderly. The son of the sea god couldn't push the little bit of envy away. Silena and Charles looked so happy and perfect together.

"Stop your PDA, that's disgusting", grunted Percy annoyed and poked them.

"Aw, don't tell me you're feeling excluded", giggled the blonde.

She leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on Percy's cheek, causing the black haired boy to blush. Especially as Charles kissed him softly on the other cheek.

"You feeling better now?", asked the son of Hephaestus concerned.

"I... Yeah, I do. I'll find a way to rescue my dad and end this war", whispered Percy.

"Right, and once you're at it, you can find a cure for cancer and establish world peace", snorted Silena and rolled her eyes. "You can't do everything alone, Perce. Let your friends help you."

"That's right", agreed Charles. "We will fight together. You're not alone in this."

"I know, but... I am the child of the prophecy, not you."

"But you don't have to deal with the prophecy alone. Every prophecy is dealt with with the help of other campers. All heads of the cabins had agreed on working together in this. We are all in this together, Perce. This is not your war, this is our war."

Percy looked reluctantly at the couple and sighed devastated. He knew that he wouldn't have to deal with this alone, but there was still the risk...

"There is something you are not telling us", stated Charles observantly.

The green eyed teen looked away.

"Perseus Jackson you will tell us what you're not telling right now", demanded Silena.

"Look, Silly, I will tell you everything, I swear, but right now I have to deal with this on my own, okay? There are things I have to consider and once I know what I will do, I'll tell you, I promise."

"Percy? Are you awake?", interrupted a female voice.

The three of them looked expectantly at Annabeth. The daughter of Athena stood awkwardly at the door, looking at her best friend.

"Yes, Annabeth? What is it?", asked the son of Poseidon.

"I—Chiron wishes to talk to you. Would you accompany me to the big house?"

Percy averted his eyes, looking from Charles to Silena to Annabeth and in the end he nodded and stood. A distant feeling told him what it would be about.

"Sure thing, wise girl. I'll catch you guys later?", asked the son of the sea god.

The couple grinned at him and nodded encouragingly. Annabeth led the way to the big house, the son of Poseidon followed with a certain distance between him and the girl. They walked in silence and once they entered the house, they were greeted by Chiron.

"We have certain things to talk about...", started the centaur.

Time seemed to rush, faces, places, things said and done rushed past Percy in a blur. A prophecy. _The_ prophecy. Concerning the end of the world and his certain death. Ain't it a rosy future? There was a meeting between the cabin heads and a quarrel between Clarisse and Michael, the decision to defend Olympus while the gods were busy fighting Typhon.

"Clarisse! Wait up", shouted Percy behind his best friend.

The brunette stamped away, angrily muttering under her breath. The son of Poseidon grabbed her arm and yanked her around, locking eyes with her.

"Look – I don't understand what kind of problem there is between the Ares and the Apollo cabins, but don't do this...", he pleaded.

"What am I supposed to do? He dishonored Ares!", hissed Clarisse enraged.

"And because of that you'll quit on the biggest war this world has ever seen? That would be an incredibly stupid move for a child of the war god!", growled Percy disappointed.

"That's-", started the daughter of Ares.

"True. And you know it, Clarisse", interfered a melodic voice.

The duo turned around to face Silena, looking disapprovingly at the brunette. Right behind her stood Charles, grinning a lopsided smile.

It was time to move into war. All camp was packing up and leaving for the Empire State Building. Everyone, except for Percy. Charles and Silena were worried and looking for their friend the entire time. Once they reached the entrance to Olympus, the couple went to Chiron.

"Uhm... Chiron... where... Where is Percy?", asked the blonde.

"Percy has left with Nico shortly after the meeting yesterday", hummed the centaur.

The daughter of Aphrodite knitted her eyebrows. She didn't look very pleased at all and wrapped her arms around her boyfriend, bright blue eyes locked with his deep brown ones. They both hated it whenever their Percy would up and vanish together with the son of Hades. Charles knew about the other boy's feelings towards Nico and he did not approve.

"Percy arrived!", announced Clarisse.

The daughter of Ares had not wanted to come along, but her two best friends had forced her more or less to fight with them. The brunette had her arm slung around Percy, the black-head looked a bit distracted and worn out. His face light up once he saw the couple.

"Hey, guys!", grinned Percy and ran towards them, hugging them.

"Where have you been?", chided Silena.

"Oh, same old, same old. Getting sold out by one of my best friends, spending some hours in the

dungeon of Hades' palace, bathing in the river Styx, nearly dying, oh and fighting against Lord Hades", answered Percy with a nonchalant shrug.

"What did he do?", screeched the blonde desperately, looking at her boyfriend.

"I think I heard that he bathed in the river Styx", grunted Charles.

"And what does that mean?", demanded Silena, her hands in her hips, glaring at Percy.

"It's the curse of Achilles", explained Malcolm, who stood in near proximity to them.

"You mean, invincibility? Really now?", gasped the daughter of Aphrodite.

"Well, not complete invincibility. There has to be one weakness. Like Achilles' foot", corrected the son of Athena with a head shake. "Meaning that if this spot is hit, he'll die."

"Well, we have a war to hit, so no time for small-talk", interrupted Percy awkwardly.

The other campers nodded reluctantly and followed the black-head into the hotel they were occupying at the moment, Silena and Charles exchanged worried glances.

Charles stifled a yawn and tightened his grip on his girlfriend. They were laying in a hotel room, together with Clarisse and Chris. The other couple laid cuddled on the bed next to them.

"Are you asleep?", mumbled Clarisse.

"No. Neither are you, eh?", grunted Beckendorf.

"I'm worried about Percy", sighed the brunette girl and knitted her eye-brows.

The son of Poseidon had been together with Thalia ever since the Hunters had joined in their war and the two were right now brooding over Annabeth. Their friend had nearly died to save Percy, because Ethan would have hit Percy's Achilles spot otherwise. But the revelation afterward was even worse than nearly dying. Annabeth had been a spy, she had worked for Luke, first because she was so much in love with him and then because she couldn't bail out anymore. The nearly fatal injuries of the daughter of Athena were right now treated by Will and Annabeth's best friends hadn't left the room since then. Thalia and Grover tried to be there for Percy, because the son of Poseidon hurt the most at that revelation.

"Sh, be silent, Thalia, the others are certainly asleep by now", hushed Grover.

"I am silent", huffed the daughter of Zeus.

The three of them opened the door and stumbled inside the room, Grover's hooves clacked on the floor and Thalia grunted in annoyance.

"We could take our own room, you know?", whispered the head Huntress curiously.

"No, I want to be here...", mumbled Percy and strode to one of the beds.

There were two couches in the room and Grover and Thalia each occupied one of them. At least they were comfortable and the satyr was out like a candle.

"Come here, Perce", instructed Charles and lifted the covers.

The son of Poseidon obliged and cuddled closer to the couple, a sigh escaping his lips.

"I can't believe Annabeth would do that to us..."

"Sh, everything will turn out good", soothed Silena and leaned over.

Unconsciously she kissed Percy to calm him, not even noticing her own actions. The son of the Sea God gaped at her with wide eyes and she had a similar look on her face.

"Uh... I... I'm sorry, Perce", stuttered the blonde.

Her words however died on her tongue as soft lips captured hers. Blue eyes were hid behind her eyelids and she deepened the kiss. A decent blush covered her pale cheeks. After they parted again, the boy laid back down, resting his head on Beckendorf's chest and snuggling deeper into the embrace of the older teen. Silena was obviously irritated, but did the same thing nonetheless.

"I love you guys. I really do. We could... die in this war and I just need to get that off my chest."

Big, green eyes turned at Charles, his lips were parted slightly and red from kissing Beckendorf's girlfriend and the dark-skinned demi-god couldn't resist kissing the boy. The three of them cuddled closely together and fell asleep with the knowledge that now everything would turn out to be okay. Everything could only went uphill from this point on.

_~*~ The End ~*~_


End file.
